01.Introduction
¶

What is ELET 270 Instrumentation?¶

The course's goal is to be an introductory course in the world of measurement systems. Measurement systems is a broad field that contains the categories listed below.

  • Sensors
  • Error and Uncertainty
  • Amplification
  • Data Acquisition and Analog to Digital Conversion
  • Filtering
Figure 1: Sunlight Received by the Earth
Sunlight Plot
  • Signal Processing
  • Statistics

Course Objectives¶

There are five primary objectives for this course. They are listed below.

  • Design Measurement Systems
  • Statistical Analysis
  • Uncertainty Analysis
  • Perform Basic Measurement Tasks
  • Communicate

More than anything, this course's overall objective is to exercise sound judgment when it comes to laboratory tasks.¶

Broad Categories of Measurements¶

There are two broad categories of measurements. The first category is

  • Engineering Experimentation

a. Research Experimentation

Figure 2: Carbon Nanotube Vibrating Experiment

b. Development Experimentation

c. Performance Testing

The other broad category of measurements is

  • Measurement in operational systems

Probably the most commonly known application of measurement in an operational system is a thermostat.

The medical field is full of operation systems.

A process plant is another common application that you will experience in your degree field.